Beijing needs time to adjust say developer

Soho China, the biggest property developer in Beijing’s central business district, said the area needs time to 'digest' its current supply of land and commercial property.

The 'CBD is quite built and there is still quite a bit of empty space that needs to be digested by the market,' Soho China Chief Executive Officer Zhang Xin said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. “I’m a little bit surprised to see the expansion of the CBD toward the east, meaning we will need more tenants.”

Beijing’s municipal government in May approved plans to double the size of the CBD, 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) east of Tiananmen Square, as the Chinese capital seeks to consolidate its position as one of the country’s financial hubs. Urban planning and design companies last week submitted plans for the expansion, the China Daily reported yesterday.